Bale elevator



Aug. 7, 1951 J. v. BROSAMER BALE ELEVATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 2,1948 I N VEN TOR.

Jacob Z/ Erase/77w" ATTD RN EYE J. v. BROSAMER 2,563,514

BALE ELEVATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Aug. 7, 1951 Filed Dec. 2, 1948 INVENTOR. Jacob M fircwamer ATTD RJN EYSJ. V. BROSAMER BALE ELEVATOR Aug. 7, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 2,1948 N INVENTOR.

0 Jacob 5/"060/77 6/" i atented Aug. 7, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEBALE ELEVATOR Jacob V. Brosamer, Lincoln; [11. Application December 2,1948, Serial N6. sans" (o1. err-=95) 7 Claims.

The present invention relates to the genera;- class of material andarticle handling of the loading and unloading vehicle type, and morespecifically to an improved elevator for mes of hay and the like whichwhile adapted for stationary use, is especially designed as anattachment for use on automotive trucks, trailers, and similar vehicles,and means are provided whereby the attachment may be interchangeablyemployed with various trucks or vehicles equipped for this purpose. 4

In carrying out my invention 1 utilize a unitary attachment, including acarrier and an operat-' ing motor for the elevator, by means of which aload on the carrier may be swung horizontally on a vertical aiiis, aswell as raised and lowered. Means are also provided for holding theappliance in upright position 101 use, and for folding the appliance toinoperative position, for transp'orta--' tion and other purposes.

The bale elevator includes a minimum number of parts that may bemanufactured with facility and low cost of production, and the parts may4 be assembled with convenience to provide a uni tary structurethat ismanually controlled, which is comparatively light in weight tofacilitatemounting upon and dismounting from the car rying vehicle, andwhich may be utilized: in handling various materials such as bales ofhay, blocks of ice, and other commodities.

The invention consists in certain novel feel tures of construction andcombinations and ar rangements of partsas will-hereinafter be more fullydescribed and particularly set forth in the appended claims; 7

In the accompanying drawings I have illu's trat'ed a complete workingexample of an em-' bodiment of my invention wherein the parts arecombined and arranged in accord with one mode I have devised for thepractical application of the principles of my invention. It will,however, be understood that any changes and alterations are"contemplated and may be made in these eXem'-' plifying drawings andmechanical structures, within the scope of my claims, without departingfrom the principles of the invention.

Figure 1 is a view in elevation, partly broken away for convenience ofillustration, showing one physical embodiment of my invention, with theelevator in uplifted position;

Figure 2 is a view'in side elevation of the appliancei Figure 3 is atransversesectional plan takeiipri Figure emanenlarged" plan view'ariahorizon was r it es 1: i ur 1 ow ing the carrier on the fit of theelevator in full lines and at one ndof the elevator in dotted lines;

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional plan at line 5 5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6' is adetail showing a sectional plan View; at line 6- 6 of 1;snowing the lower riage which engages the chain;-

Figure ll is a similar detail also with parts broken away taken on linel l-all of Figure 9 showing the pawl on the opposite side of thecarriage which engag s the chain for holding the elevator while abale ofhay is unloaded from the carrier and also for holding the elevator tothe chain for lowering the carrier;

Figure 12 is a detail showing a vertical section through the elevatorand carriage illustrating the positions of thepawls with the carriagebeslsw r m Figure 13 is a similar section showing the position of thepawls" as the elevator carriage is traveling upward W V V Figure 14 is aview similar to that shown Figures I2 and '13 with the carrier pawl inthe operative poutwnyanu, V

Figure 1511s a viewkin side elevation of an automotive truck, equippedwith the hoisting appliance of my invention which is shown in downwardlyfolded position for transportation purse ,i. 1 In order that the"general arrangement and utility of part mayxrea nv be understood I have"shown in Figure 15 a typiqal automotive truck; indicated as If, whle i'I provided with the usual driverscab C arid foiirwlieels w, For attach?ment to the truck, or to a similar vehicle, the elevating mechanism isprovided with a rectan-' gular-shape mam-raise Fhaving a horizontalplatform or' deck P upoinbwliic'h' a motor M is mounted for operatingthe elevator.

For'mounting the jhoi'sting mechanism or eleva-" toron, and 176: dimduhudgit'fiom thetrucli T, thefram'e' F of the appliance is" providedwith a pair of spaced horizontal slide bars or tongues I, I, thatproject laterally from the top portion of the frame, and these tonguesare slidably mounted in grooves formed by flanged rails 2, 2 located atthe underside of the deck of the truck, and fastened thereto by bolts 3,3. The appliance may be mounted at either side of the truck, and held inoperative position by means of coupling bolts, as 4 that are passedthrough registering holes in the-slide tongues and the guide rails.

A number of trucks may be equipped with standardized guide rails 2, 2,and the appliance may selectively be mounted on and dismounted from thetrucks thus equipped.

As a supporting frame for the elevating or' hoisting mechanism I providean elevator that includes a pair of spaced upright tubular posts 5, 5that are rigidly united at their lower ends by a base bar 6, and theupper ends of the posts are rigidly united by a cross head '1 thatincludes end collars 8 adjustable on the posts, and set bolts 9 arethreaded through the collars for engagement with the posts for holdingthe cross head in adjusted positions. 1

Near its lower end the elevator is equipped with a horizontal bearingbar or plate 10 having a hub II in which the end of the horizontallypositioned operating shaft [2 Of the elevator, is rotatably mounted andthis shaft is journaled in bearings as 13 of the frame F. A drive beltfor the operating shaft includes a driven pulley M on shaft l2, adriving -belt; I5, a driving pulley I 5, and the shaft I"! of the motorM.

With the operating shaft as a central axis, the elevator may be swungdownwardly toward the rear of the truck, as indicated in Figure 15, toinoperative position, as for transportation purposes, and moved upwardlyto upright position for use. The elevator is rigidly fastened to themain frame F of the appliance bymeans of a plate or strap l8 thatpartially surrounds the elevator and clamps it :tothe frame. Detachablebolts, as I9, are passed through holes in the two angular ends of thefastening plate, and these bolts are secured by lock nuts in usualmanner. r To permit swinging oftheelevator to inoperative position thebolts l9 and-plate 18 are removed, then the elevator may be swung on itsaxis for engagement with a fastening bracket or frame 20 bolted as at 2|in upright position along the edge or side 'of the deck of the truck T.

The base bar 6 connecting the lower end of the post 5 of the elevator isprovided with an arcuate lower surface described on a radius from theaxis of the shaft 12 and the lower'end of the frame F is provided withan arcuate shoe 5 which coacts with the lower surface of the base bar toprovide a guide and supporting means or load carrier I have illustratedan endless sprocket-chain hoist operated by the driving sprocket wheel22 on the operating shaft I2,

and an endless chain 23 passes around the lower drive sprocket and alsoaround anju'pper driven sprocket 24 journaled in the cross head! of theelevator.

The flights of the endless chain pass through 5, 5 and these sleevesarerigidly united by upper and lower cross bars 26' and 21,respectively, each made up of spaced parallel plates that permitmovement of the enclosed endless chain.

Within the upper cross bar 26, a lifting pawl 28 is pivoted at 35 forcoaction with the upwardly moving flight of the chain, and for coactionwith the other flight of the chain a suspending hook 29 is pivoted orhinged at 3! within the upper cross bar.

With the motor operating, the endless chain moves clockwise, with thepawl 28 engaged with the chain as indicated in Figure 14, and with thesuspending hook 29 idling. At the end of its upward movement thecarriage is stopped, as the lifting pawl 28 is disengaged from the chainand the suspending hook 29 remains inoperative, being separated from theendless chain, and the motor M is out out, the carriage being suspendedfor loading and unloading purposes as hereinafter described. After theload is disposed of from the elevator, the suspending hook 29 isreleased and the carriage under suitable control means is permitted todescend to lowered position, traveling with the opposite downwardlymoving flight of the chain.

For stopping the upward movement of the carriage an adjustable stop bar3|, similar to the bar 25 of the carriage, is provided with col- 7 lars32, and set bolts 33 for engagement with the posts of the elevator tohold the stop in adjusted positions. As best se enin Figure l3, the stopbar is equipped with a cross pin 34, located in the path of movement ofthe lifting pawl 28,

and upon contacting this release or cross p in,

the lifting pawl is moved inwardly and disen- 1 gaged from the ascendingflight of the chain.

path of the suspending hook 29 as it idly'ascends with the carriage, andupon contact with this supporting lug and with a cam action thesuspending hook is slipped intoengagement with the supporting lug 35,tosupport the carriage'in uplifted position. The bar 3''! and lug 35 aremaintained in the position of holding the hook 29 by a spring 31a, asshown in Figure '7.

For lowering the carriage the liftinghook 29 is disengaged by lateralmovement of the bar 31,

from the lug 35, and automatically engaged with the descending flight ofthe chain to support the carriage and its load;. and by means of a leafspring 35, the suspending hook is resiliently held in the chain, thehook being released from the supporting lug 35 by one of the verticalposts 38 of the carrier platform 39"as the'carrier arrives at theposition shown in Figure 4. The carrier may be rotated through anangle'of wherein the other post 38 of the carrier will engagetheopposite end of the bar 31 so that the lug 35 will be moved across thecarriage to release the hook 29. The hook 29 is, therefore, releasedfrom the lugs 35 by swinging the carrier to a'position in the same planeas that of the elevatorandon 1 either side thereof and as the'hook 2a isreleased, the spring 36 will urge the hook'into the chain, as shown inFigures 12 and i l, and the descending flight of the endless chain whichpasses l freely'by the suspending lug 35, carries th'ecarf rier andcarriage down the elevator.

The load carrier is suspended onthe carriage for raising or lifting aload, as a bale of, hay, and

for lowering a similar load, and for loading and ead n l g g h e e my beswe s in a horizontal ,;:plane upon, ai'vertical axis mount d u on e endo the ca age The carrier comprises two til SP QGQd apart and each tubeincludes an upri ht post-L38 and a horizontal arm with the two armsunited by cross slats 39 to form an L-shaped structure. The two uprightposts. 38 are united by two verti- Cally S aced horizontal brace bars40: and M each provided with a hinge car as 42, and a long verti alhinge bolt 43 is. passed through these ears and complementary perforatedhingeears .4. f th c rria e. To. resiliently hold the carrier in desiredositions, a spring 45 is coiled about he hin e bolt 43. between the twohinges, with the ends of the spring positioned to be held in clips 46 onthe carrier, and after the carrier is loaded it may manually be pushedto unloading position from which it will be retracted by the spring.

As best seen in Figure 2, the carrier is provided with two verticallypositioned leaf springs 41 that engage the elevator posts to prevent thecarrier from jamming with the carriage as it reaches the stop bar andits trip mechanism, and the upper ends of the posts of the carrier arepreferably beveled as at 48, to prevent accidental or excessive upwardmovement of the carriage and carrier in coaction with the tripmechanism.

The loading and unloading mechanism may be manually and automaticallycontrolled for various operations, as for instance, with the carrierlowered to loading position of Figure 2, after a bale has been depositedthereon, the lifting pawl is manually engaged with the ascending flightof the endless chain hoist, and the carriage is thereby elevated on theelevator to desired altitude for unloading where travel of the carriageis temporarily suspended and the carriage is supported as described.Then the loaded carrier is manually swung around the hinge bolt as anaxis against the tension of the coiled spring 45, the extended end ofwhich is anchored on the carriage, to the dotted line position of Figure4 or all of the way around to the opposite side of the elevator forunloading a bale or other commodity, and after unloading the bale theempty carrier is returned by the retracting spring to the position shownin full lines in Figure 4. When reaching this position, the bevel end 48of the carrier posts strikes and swings the supporting lug 35 to offcenter position thereby releasing the suspending hook 29, which permitsthe spring 36 to actuate the hook to the chain engaging position shownin Figures 12 and 14, whereby the carriage rides down with the chain.When the desired loading position is reached by the elevator thesuspending hook is automatically released from the chain, and assumes anidling position and after again loading the elevator, the lifting hookis again manually engaged with the ascending flight of the chain ashereinbefore described.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a power operated loading and unloading appliance the combinationwith a main frame, an upright elevator, and an endless chain hoistmounted in the elevator, of a vertically reciprocable carriage slidableon the elevator, a carrier hinged on the carriage with a vertical axis,and a retracting spring for retaining the carrier in loading position,coacting means on the chain and carriage for raising the carriage,coacting means on the carriage and elevator for tempo- In n. app iance.as described, the combinaw on with an, upri ht elevator, a verticallyreciprooa'ole carr a mounted on the elevator, and" mean fo operating thecarri ge, of a. carrier havin perforated hin e-ears, comp me t ry h ngeears the carria e, a hinge bolt passed.

through said cars, a tension spring coiled about the bolt, and saidspring having: extended ends for connection to the; carrier In t portale elevator, the: combination which. comprises a pair oi spaced parallelposts, cross members connecting the posts, a carriage slidably mountedon said posts, a vertically disposed hinged bolt mounted on saidcarriage and extended upwardly from the side of one of said posts acarrier pivotally mounted on the hinge bolt of said carriage for lateralswinging action about the carriage and whereby the carrier swings from aposition parallel to a plane passing through the centers of the posts toa position perpendicular to the said plane, resilient means foractuating the carrier about the axis of the pivot thereof, and meanselevating said carriage with the carrier thereon on the said posts.

5. In a portable elevator, the combination which comprises a pair ofspaced parallel posts, cross members connecting the posts, a carriageslidably mounted on said posts, a vertically disposed hinged boltmounted on said carriage and extended upwardly from the side of one ofsaid posts a carrier pivotally mounted on. the hinge bolt of saidcarriage for lateral swinging action about the carriage and whereby thecarrier swings from a position parallel to a plane passing through thecenters of the posts to a position perpendicular to the said plane,resilient means for actuating the carrier about the axis of the pivotthereof, means elevating said carriage with the carrier thereon on thesaid posts, and means adjustably mounted on the posts for limitingupward movement of the carriage.

6. In a portable elevator, the combination which comprises a pair ofspaced parallel posts, cross members connecting the posts, a carriageslidably mounted on said posts, a vertically disposed hinged boltmounted on said carriage and extended upwardly from the side of one ofsaid posts a carrier pivotally mounted on the hinge bolt of saidcarriage -for lateral swinging action about the carriage and whereby thecarrier swings from a position parallel to a plane passing through thecenters of the posts to a position perpendicular to the said plane,resilient means for actuating the carrier about the axis of the pivotthereof, means elevating said carriage with the carrier thereon on thesaid posts, a supporting structure for suspending the elevator from atruck body, and means pivotally mounting the said parallel posts in thesaid supporting structure.

7. In an elevator, the combination which comprises a pair of spacedparallel posts, means rigidly connecting the posts at points spaced fromthe ends thereof, sprockets journaled in the connecting means spacedfrom the ends of the posts,-

an endless chaintrained over the said sprockets and positioned betweenthe posts, a carriage slidengaging the carriage with the said endlesschain, a cross member adjustably mounted on theposts and spaced fromthe-upper-end thereof, means on the cross memberfor engaging the latchof the carriage to disengage the carriage from the chain as the carriageapproaches the cross member, a carrier including an L-shaped framehaving: a vertically disposed section with a horizontallydisposedplatform extended outwardly from the lower end thereof pivotally mountedon the carriage and positioned for lateral swinging movement about thecarriage, a spring positioned betweenthe carriage and carrier forswinging the carrier about the carriage, a supporting structureforsuspending the parallel posts from a truck body, and means pivotallymounting said parallel posts in the supporting structure.

7 a JACOB V. BROSAMER.

ably mounted on said posts, latching means for 8, REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent;

:UNITED' STATES PATENTS V Date Great Britain Jan. 4, 1949 i

